July 08
2007

Mere Smith worked on "Angel" for the entire run of the series as a story editor and writer. "Burn Notice" is a very nice show on USA about a spy, played by Jeffrey Donovan, who is mysteriously let go by his employers. The best part for me is that Bruce Campbell plays a boozy ex-spy in Miami!

I love this show! So far it even exceeds The 4400 in summer TV goodness for me. Donovan is excellent, this is the first thing I've seen him in though I've heard he was good in Touching Evil too. And Bruce Campbell may be playing his usual snarky role but he does get the occasional spot of seriousness. :)

Damn, I wanted to catch this show but missed the beginning, so I just let it slide. Maybe they'll do one of their mini-marathons for us laggards to catch up. If it's been called "Whedon-esque", how can I miss it?

Lol, when I saw the name "Mere Smith" on the screen, the words "Mere is a hottie female" drifted through my mind - said by someone on a DVD commentary somewhere, when someone enquired if "Mere" was a male or female name. Hm.. but which DVD. Oh well *g*

I'm enjoying this show and yes, I feel it's relatively safe being on USA. USA is home to the only dramatic show I've watched from the beginning that has not been cancelled before or directly after the end of its first season, "Psych".

Burn Notice definitely has potential. But did anyone else notice the mom was recast from the pilot? It was a bit weird and left me wondering why they didn't at least reshoot her scenes from the pilot.

I don't know what you mean about the mom. It's been the same person, from Cagney & Lacey, can't remember which one she was. Either way, the show is really good. As soon as I heard that Bruce Campbell was in it I had to give it a try. I think it has real potential. There are so many shows that I like that are on break right now so I am happy something good came in to fill the gaps.

Liked it. The tone feels a bit strange, kind of hard-boiled but slightly light too, maybe it'll settle or maybe it'll turn out to be deliberate (I like the almost jovial voice-over mixed with occasional hints of the darkness in Weston's character e.g. he totally killed those guys in Nigeria during the pilot and the way he turned off his laughter when he was talking to the evil estate agent - is there any other kind ? ;-) - was actually very 'spyish' and quite cold).

In some ways (and not just at least two cast cross-overs within the first two episodes) it reminds me of 'Dexter'. Emotionally very cold guy that wants to be a 'real boy' and survives by preying on those that prey on others.

Also, though it wasn't the worst i've heard by a long stretch, I think it's probably wise to 'de-emphasise' Gabrielle Anwar's Irish accent. I dunno about the US but over here it'd be an uphill struggle to make her sympathetic with the constant reminder that she's ex-IRA.

(and yep, it's definitely Sharon Gless in both - she loses what looked like a pretty ropey wig in the pilot by episode two. She played Cagney, BTW. Nice wee nod in ep 2 where Weston's pals introduce themselves as Cagney and Lacey ;)

For those who mine the recent comments for nuggets instead of just the front page, Mere wrote last week's episode "Broken Rules". I think it was nearly the best of the season, both in the writing and the acting. Plus, who can resist Esai Morales?! And the dynamic between Fi and Michael was completely believable and even a little heartbreaking in Michael's inability to connect without their being some kind of tension and friction (and no I don't mean the physical kind!).

This show has bulleted past Lost,Heroes, and even BSG on my list of top ten shows in current production. (Or relatively current considering the lack of Lost and BSG until long after Christmas.)